Coke oven battery construction



July 27, 1937. w. H; PAvrrT 2,038,532

com ovEN BATTERY CONSTRUCTION Filed May 18, 1955 2 sheets-sheet 1 ...un u.. v. .1. Q ...m .n.... wv... M.

Nb QI. C @l A'rroRNEY.

July 27, 1937. w. H. PAvrrT COKE. OVEN BATTERY CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet rZ,

Filed May 18, 1955 i, ATTORNEY Patented July 27, 1937 PATENT oFFlcE l z.oss,s3z com: ovaN BATTERY CONSTRUCTION William H. Pavitt, Bronxville, N. Y., assignor tov Adele Johnson Wilputte, New Rochelle, N. Y.-

Application May 18, 1935; Serial No. 22,241

6 Claims.

`The present invention relates to the construction of a coke oven structure or battery of the so-called underilred type having such ovens and heating wallsas are commonly employed in this -5 country and abroad for the manufacture of metallurgical coke, andthe general object of the invention is to provide a structure of the type mentioned in which the thermal expansion of indif vidual parts of the structure, occurring as the l battery is heated up to its working temperature will not result in the battery-elongation heretofore customary.

A coke oven battery of the above mentioned type, -comprises horizontally elongated coking l chambers alternating with heating walls and, like the latter, extending Abetween the opposite sides of the battery, regenerator chambersv and division walls below the level .of the coking chambers, and a battery base, or deck member, which underlies and supports all-of the .above mentioned battery elements and others associated therewith, and which is supported on pillar .walls or columns rising from` a batteryfoundation proper. supported by the ground which may be reinforced by piles. f The horizontal extent of the base or` deck member of a coke oven battery of the type mentioned, and of usual capacity, is considerable. Its width may well be about forty four feet and its length' may be two hundred and seventy iive feet or so,

and the dead load supported by it ordinarily amounts to some twenty ve hfundred'pounds per square foot, so that the base or deck member must possess great strength and rigidity. Heretofore, it has been customary to form said member as a .monolith or one'piece body or slab or and major portion of each heating wall is customarily about eightor nine inches. The texn'v peratures and consequent tendency to expansin are lower in the root stmcture of the battery and beneath the level of the oven floors. Below that level, the brick temperature diminishes more or less gradually, so that the average base or deck member temperature may be only 250 or so,

The latter ordinarily rests on, and is t In consequence of their -ex. pansion ,'the horizontal elongation of the lower though the average temperature of the brickwork directly above said member may be two hundred degrees or so higher.

As the bricksin the battery structure heat up, they expand in the longitudinal direction of the battery, as they do in the transverse direction. In ovens as heretofore constructed, Vthe battery has been prevented from elongating in length in proportion toits increase in width, by the pro-v vision of vertically disposed expansion joints in 10 the oven brickwork extending transversely to the length of the battery and provisions for effecting some closing up of those joints as the battery is heated up. Heretofor'e, however, no attempt has been made to prevent the thermal elongation of 15 the monolithic battery base or deck member on which the coke oven brickwork is supported. On the contrary the effort has been to so regulate o'r `control .the thermal expansion of the coke oven brickwork, longitudinally of the battery, that 20 it will be about the same as the deck expansion in the same direction. Such attempts have been attended with indifferent success. Owing to differences between. thecoke oven brickwork and deck members ,in respect to the coemcients ofexp'anslon of the materials used, particularly with certaimdeck member concrete mixes, and in respect to the rates of heating andultimate tem-A peratures attained, the longitudinal expansion of the brickwork and deck cannot be foretold with 30 accuracy, and, in any event, are diilicult to con-,-

trol by the only available. controlling means.

AThe latter comprises metal tie 'bars extending longitudinallyof the battery at .the top of the, latter and connecting the upper ends of the pin- 35 ion or battery end walls, which form abutments engaged by the ends of the 'coke oven brickwork block. In order that those tie rods may properly regulate the relativeexpansionof the brickwork and deckthey should be slowly lengthen-ed as the 40- battery heating up proceeds through a period of several weeks, so that the tops of pinion walls. may slowly spread in accordance with the generally simultaneous elongation of the deck xnem-4 ber. In practice.' however, it has not been cus '45.

tomary to vary the length of the longitudinal tie j rods, but to proceed on the assumption that-th thermal elongation of those rods asthey increase in temperature, will more or less closely correspond to a suitable thermal elongation of the 5u brickwork of the battery. f l In accordance with the present invention, I provide. the coke oven brickwork with vertically disposed transverse joints, but-depart from prior practice by dividing the deck member into a 55 Y suitable member of longitudinal sections separated by lexpansion joint spaces, and by holding the pinions or end walls substantially stationary during the heating up period, so that the expansion joints in the coke oven brickwork and the expansion joints in the deck each take up orv close as much'or as little as is required to prevent any signicant battery elongation. To Athis end, the pinion walls are preferably anchored l -rmly at their lower ends to the battery foundation proper which rests on and is imbedded in the earth and does not significantly change in temperature as the coke ovens are heated up, and the upper ends of the pinion walls are connected by longitudinal tie bars which are adjusted during the heating up operation only as required to compensate for the thermal expansion of those bars as their temperatures increase a hundred degrees or so above atmospheric temperatures, as a result of heat absorption from the top of the battery structure on which said bars are mounted.

In its preferred form, the invention is further characterized by the interlocking of sections of the deck member with portions off the oven brickwork' above them to prevent relative movement of the parts so interlocked in the longitudinal direction of the battery. Y

The invention possesses practical advantages particularly in respect to the maintenance ofthe desired vertical disposition of the coking chambers and heating walls, and in respect to the mechanical connections between the battery structure proper, regenerator waste heat and supply conduits and battery adjuncts -such as the benches at the sides of the battery. 'I'he latter extend for the full length of the battery and are attached tothe battery side armor, but are not subjected to the battery temperatures, and are not subject to significant thermal expansion.

'I'he various features of novelty which characterize my inventioniare pointed out .with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, and the advantagesv possessed by it reference should be had toA the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which I have illustrated and described a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic side ele- Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section, taken longitudinally of the battery, -through the deck member and portion ofthe oven structure above it;

G0 and y Fig. 4 is a. partial section, the lefthand portion of which is taken on the line 4 4, and the righthand portion on `the broken line lA-.l of Fig. 3. The coke oven battery structure illustrated in the drawings comprises a battery foundation A, which ordinarily is a monolithic slab or mat of reinforced concrete, imbedded in, and supported by the earth, and by piles A', when earth conditions require piling, as is usually the case. An-

chored to, and extending upward from the foundation mat A are a multiplicity of vertical columns or pillars B, and the two battery end or pinion walls C. Each pinion wall C is a massive body of r'einforced concrete, ordinarily formed with recesses C in its outer or exposedside, al-

ternating with rib or` ange portions, whereby suitable transverse wall strength and stiffness is obtained with some economyv in the concrete required. The pinion walls C extend approximately to the top of the masonry portion of the coke oven structure, and form abutments for the ends of the coke oven brickwork block D in which the ,coking chambers, heatingflues and i regenerator chambers are formed. The said of lthe deck member E is supported on a shoulder C2 of the corresponding pinion wall.

In accordance with the present invention, the deck member E is divided into a plurality of longitudinal sections separated by open expansion joint spaces E1, and the pinion walls C are connected at their upper ends by heavy metal tie rods G, employed, and effective, to prevent the pinion walls from 4moving away from one another signicantly under the thermal expansion -stresses occurring as the oven brickwork is heated up to its Working temperature. The expansion longitudinally of the battery vof the individual sections of the deck member E then occurring, results in a reduction inthe thickness of the expansion joint spaces E. As the oven is heated up, thel expansion of the ovenbrickwork in the direction of the length of the battery is accommodated by vertically disposed expansion joints D' extending transversely of the battery. Those expansion joints may be, and are shown as formed in -the manner heretofore customary. Theoretically, however, the joints D1 in the construction illustrated need to be 'of' a little greater initial Width than was required in prior ovenconstructions, in which the coke oven brickwork block was intended to elongate in the direction of the length of the battery, in accordance with the elongation in the' one piece deck member, heretofore employed in such batteries. The lengths of the individual section of the deck member E` may vary considerably. Inthe construction shown, the central sections are somel what shorter than those nearer the ends of the battery, though this is not essential and the shorter sections are long enough to underlie some eight coking chambers. At their adjacent edges each two sections of the deck member E may be interlocked against 'relative movement transversely ofthe battery, asby forming a recess lll3 in one of the edges, and by forming a shoulder E4 on the other edge which is received in said recess.v

In the' particular constructionillustrated, the eight longitudinal tie rods G employed are suitably spaced apart across the width of the battery and rest on the top of the oven brickwork. To properly distribute the load among the diierent tie rods G, and' to avoid subjecting any one of them to excessive tension, each tie rod G may engage each pinion C through a `compression abutment spring H as shown, though ordinarily such springs are not used. As the oven heats up, the temperatures of the long tie rods G are increased -suflciently to produce a significant longitudinal expansion of theV tie rods.\ "I'he effect tain-the desired constant tie rod length, as the lo rod sections heat up and individually increase-in length during the oven heating up operation.

In the preferred construction illustrated,v the sections of the deck member E are directly supported by the subjacent columns B through steel l5 Vgirders I of I-beam cross section. "Each girder extends transversely of the battery for the full width of the latter, and is supported on the corlresponding transverse vrow of columns B. Preferably, and as shown, a metal bearing plate I' is Z placed between the top of each girder I and the superposed section of the deckv member E. The concrete forming the latter is poured to form the deck member sections in', and the bearing plates I' ordinarily so engage the underside l the deck section above them, that on the expansion ofthe latter, the bearing plates will Vnot move relatively thereto in the direction of the battery length,but will accommodate such movement of the section relative to the columns B as 50 may occur, by sliding on the girders I.

In the type of oven construction illustrated, the coking ehambers'F alternate with heating walls J, and each of the latter is supported by a corresponding regenerator division wall K ex- 35 tending transversely of the battery and. resting at its lower edge on the subjacent section of the deck member. The heavy load of the coke oven brckwork and .associated parts carried by the deck member E, is transmitted to the latter wholly 40 or mainly through theregen'erator division walls A K. In a preferred form of the present invention, some at least, of the regenerator division walls K are anchored against movement in the longitudinal direction of the battery, relative to the sub- 45 jacent sections of the deck member E. As shown,

this anchorage is effected by forming a shallow groove E5 in the upper side of each deck section, to receive each division wall J anchored thereto. In the desirable form of construction illustrated, 50 each section of the deck E is thus anchored only to thetwo regenerator division walls K adjacent the center of the section and the remaining six or more division walls K supported by the section, Aare free to slide longitudinally of the bat- 55 tery on said section.`V In addition to such sliding movements, there are sliding movements of the walls K in the direction of their lengths, as the since the walls K have higher temperatures and 60 are made'of material having higher coeflicient of expansion than the deck E; To facilitate such sliding movements, the sliding surfaces are preferably lubricated initially, as by applying a heavy coating of pitch to the upper sides-'of the 'deck 65 sections including the walls o'f the grooves E5 in the initial construction of the coke oven battery.

For the purposes of the present invention, the

particular type and form ofv oven heating ue system' employed, is immaterial, subject only to 70 the qualification. that the oven is of the underred type, and hence comprises rich fuel gas supply channels L vertically disposed inthe regenerator division walls K, and communicating at their upper ends with the combustion ues M in 75 the heating walls J, andcommunicating at their .the ch lined by vertical sections N of the supply piping connected at their upper ends. walls K elongate, due to the thermal expansion,

lower ends with vertical channels L' formed in the deck member E. 'The fuel gas passing through the channels L and L" is furnished by a gas supply piping system N beneath lthe deck member E, and including suitable reversing 5 valves, and devices for regulating the ow of fuel gas through the different channels L'. As shown, the lower ends of the channels L are enlarged so that horizontal movement of a wall K relative to the subjacent deck section, will not interfere with the communication between the corresponding channels L and L. Preferably, and as shown, annels L' snugly receive, and, in effect, are

Whatever the form or-type of oven heating system employed may be, it ordinarily requires a multiplicity of conduit connections O' at one or both sides of the battery, between regenerator f sole channels P formed in the coke oven brickwork and a waste heat flue Q extending longitudinally of the battery. Relative movement longitudinally of the battery of the ends of such` a conduit connection, is obviously objectionable, when significant in amount. Such movement may be substantially avoided in a battery constructed in accordance with the present invention so that there is but little movement of the sole channel P in the direction of the battery length,

.by forming each waste heat iiue Q of suitably system illustrated, the vertical heating flues M in half of each heating wall adjacent either side of the battery, are associated with regenerators to form anA individual heating unit, which discharges products of combustion into a waste heat flue at the corresponding side of the battery.

'I'he particular coke oven construction illustrated, is a so-called combination oven, which may be heated by the combustion of a rich fuel gas supplied to the ilues M through the channels L without regenerative preheating, or, alternatively, by the combustion of a lean fuel gas, such. as blast furnace gas, which is regeneratively pre--l heated. In the -combination oven shown, each heating unit comprises an upper horizontal channel M' in the heating wall individual to the unit, 55 and to which all of the flues M of lthe-unit are At their lower ends, an qutside group of the nues M of the unit, areconnected each by a duct R to an outside re'- generator R" at one side of the wall K beneath the ues, and each ilue of the group is connected by a duct r to an outside regenerator r at the opposite 'side of the wall.v Each of the remaining or inside group of flues of the unit is connected by ducts R and r, respectively, to an inside regenerator Rz at one side of the adjacent wall K and a second inside regenerator in end to end relation with the regenerator r' and separated from the regenerator R2 by the wall K. The voutside regenerators R' and 1" between each two 70 adjacent walls K, pertain respectively to the different heating units associated wlththe two heating walls above the walls K, and are separated from one another by a regenerator division wall Rr which is extended -to separate the inside regenerators in end -to end relation with the regenerators R' and 1". In the type of oven construction shown, the regenerator division walls Rr are not intended to give any signicant support 5 to the coke oven brick work.

Each of the four -regenerators of each heating responding sole channel P and Waste heat flue Q,

and a reversing valve O2 which may be opened to permit atmospheric air vto enter the corresponding sole channel P, when the corresponding reversing valve 0' is closed. When the ovens are heated by the cbmbustionof rich fuel gas, all of the regenerators of each unit are used to preheat air. When the oven is heated by the combustion of lean gas, two of the regenerators,`for example, the outside regenerator r' and the inside regenerator in end to end relation therewith, are used in preheating the fuel gas. In such use, the reversing valves O2 in the conduit connections O to thelast mentioned regenerators are kept closed,

and those regenerators are periodically supplied Y -take off provisions, oven charging means, coke `40 oven doors, and door frames and other armor, at

the sides of the battery, bench structures at the -sides of the battery, and charging oven provisions at the top of the battery. Whilethe present invention lis not concerned with the form of' such additional battery elements, difficulties in respect to the mechanical connections offsome of those elements with the coke oven brick Work portion of the battery heretofore experienced, are avoided or deslrably minimized by the use of the present invention.

In the particular form of coke oven illustrated, the distillation gas take oif provisions include an ascension pipe T at each end of each coking chamber mounted on 4the top `of the coke oven K brick work, and communicating with a collecting main T extending longitudinally of the battery and supported on thevertical buckstays U at the corresponding side of the battery. There are one or more buckstays 'U at each` end of each oven heating wall, and subjacent regenerato division wall. Each buckstay'is connected at` its lower end to the adjacent section of the deck E by an anchor bolt U'V and compression spring U2, the

latter being analogous in function to the previously mentioned compression spring H. At their upper ends, the buckstays U at 'the opposite sides -of the battery are connected by transverse tie` bars V extending across the battery at the top of the latter, and each connected at one end, at least,to the corresponding buckstay by a com'- prevssion spring V and nut V2, the latterxbeing eased off to permit the buckstays'to separate as the coke oven brick work expands in the direction transverse to the length of the battery, there being no expansion -joints in the coke oven brick work to accommodate such expansion of the brick work. A'1"he fact that the coke oven brick work` block D is not permitted to elongate in accordance with the present invention, facilitates the maintena'ncev of the desired vertical disposition of the buckstays which is desirable for various reasons, and particularly because it contributes to the maintenance of the desired vertical disposition of the oven heating walls and door frames.

Benches W at the opposite sides of the battery and having their upper sides located ordinarily a little below the level of the floors of the oven chambers, are practically important adjuncts of a coke oven battery. Such bench structures ordinarily provide enclosures for the reversing valves at the sides of the battery, and supports for the reversing valve operating connections. The tops of the bench structures provide walks for the battery attendants, and the bench at the cokeside of the battery, also ordinarily carries the track rails for a coke discharge'carriage and for a coke oven door handling machine; The

bench structures thus need to be strong and rigid, and ordinarily and advantageously they include'a structural metal frame work W including parts anchored tothe buckstays U. 'I'he bench structures are maintained approximately at atmospheric temperatures, and displacements of the buckstays U in the longitudinal direction of the battery, occurring as the latter is heated up, in-

volve bench structure disturbances which'have by the use of the present invention.

As a coke oven battery constructed as described,

is heated up to its working temperatures, the i thermal expansion occurring in diierent porbeen found annoying in the past, and are avoided tions of the battery structure, will be very different as a result of the differences in temperatures Aobtained and to vsome extent as a result of' the differences inx the thermal coefficients of expansion of the materials used in different portions of the structure. temperatures will be obtained, and the maximum expansion will occur in the portion of the oven brick work between the levels of the tops and bottomsof the coking chambers. 'Ihe heating wall temperatures 'at the sides of the coking'cham- In general, the maximum bers may be in the neighborhood of, or above 2500" -F. Below the oors of the ovens the brick work temperatures-willdiminish to an average temperature immediately above the deck E, of-

something like 40m-500 The deck member E.which is continuously exposed to, and cooled by contact with air atits under-side, may attain an average temperature of 250 or thereabouts. The foundation proper :will not be heated, significantly above the temperature vof the atmosphere. With ythe deck member formed as a.

monolith, as has been heretofore customary, it must expand a few inches inthe direction of the length of the battery notwithstanding the relatively moderate temperatures to' which it is subjected,because of its considerable'length. The

expansion in the. direction of the'length of the. battery of the deck member, must be accompanied by a similar elongation of the battery brick work Moreover, it is practically impossible tocontrol the expansion of the brick work above the deckA so that it will be exactly the same as the deck ex ac sausa pension, particularly as the temperatures in the different portions of the structure, do not change proportionally as the temperatures are being increased throughout the heating operation. With the use of the present invention, however, it is r practically feasible to hold the deck and the blick workabove it against significant elongation in the direction of the length of the battery and thus maintain the desired vertical disposition of the heating walls and buckstays as well as avoiding the other objections to battery elongation.

While in accordance with the provisions of the statutes, I have illustrated and described the best form of embodiment of my invention now known to me, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes may be made in the form of the apparatus disclosed without departing from the spirit of my invention as set forth in the appended claims and that in some cases certain features of my invention may be used to advantage without a corresponding use ofv other features.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A regenerative under fired coke oven battery structure comprising in combination an elongated brickwork block formed with horizontal coking chambers arranged side by side and each extending transversely to the length of the block between the sides of the battery and with heating walls alternating with the coking chambers and with walls beneath and parallel to the heating walls directly supporting the latter and separated from one another to provide regenerator spaces, said block being formed in sections arranged end to end longitudinally of the battery' and separated by expansion joints extending transversely to the length of the battery, -of supporting means for said block comprising battery end walls anchored against substantial relative movement and having their upper portions in abutting relation with the respective ends of the brickwork block, a deck member beneath and directly supporting the Weight of the block and formed of sections arranged end to end longitudinally of the battery and each extending transversely of the battery from one side to the other thereof and separated from each adjacent section by an expansion joint extending transversely to the length of the battery, and each directly supporting a portion of said block including a plurality of said chambers, heating walls and spaces, vertically-disposed, spaced-apart supports for said deck member sections, and a foundation supporting said supports and separated by the latter from said deck memf ber to provide a space between the latter and the foundation forming the passageway for an oven attendant required for under-lire opera- 60 tion, and making the foundation temperature substantially lower than the temperature of the under-side of said deck member.

2. A coke oven battery structure as specified in claim 1, in which adjacent deck member sec- 65 tions have their adjacent edges eongured to interlock sai'd sections against relative horizon'- tal movement transversely of the battery length. 3. A coke oven structure as specified in claim 1, in which-each section and the portion ofthe 70 brickwork block directly supported thereby, have shoulder portions interlocking them against relative bodily movement in the longitudinal direction of the battery.

A 4. In the construction of an under-fired re- 75 generative coke oven battery comprising a coke oven brickwork block formed with side by side horizontal coking chambers and with heating walls at the sides of the coking chambers and,

with subjacent supporting and regenerator separating walls all extending between the opposite sides of the battery, and with expansion joints extending between theopposite sides of the battery and distributedv along the length oi?` the latter, a deck member underlying and supporting said block and forming the roof of a space forming the passageway for an oven attendant required for underiire operation, and battery end wmls between which said block and deck extend, the method which consists in holding said end walls against substantial movement .away from one another and taking up in the deck member the thermal expansion thereof in the longitudinal direction of the battery, while the battery is being heated up to its working temperatures, and thereby preventing battery elongation during the heating up operation.

5; A regenerative under-fired coke oven battery structure comprising battery end walls, a deck member extending between said end walls and formed in sections arrangedv end to end longitudinally of the battery and separated by'trans? verse expansion joints, a coke oven brickwork block mounted on said deck and extending between said end walls and formed with horizontal coking chambers arranged Side by side and each extending between the opposite sides of the bat.-

tery and with heating walls alternating with the coking chambers and with walls beneath, parallel to, and supporting the heating walls and oven -chambers, an'd separated from one another to provide regenerator spaces, said block being formed in sections arranged end to end longitudinalLv of the battery and separated by transverse expansion joints, and means for supporting said deck member and end walls and holding the latter against substantial movement away from i one another, whereby the thermal expansion of sai'd sections is taken up by said expansion joints without appreciable elongation of the battery, said means comprising parts distributed along the length of the battery beneath and supporting said deck, and a foundation supporting said end walls and parts and separated by the latter from said deck member to provide a space between the latter and the foundation forming the passageway for an oven attendant required for underilre operation and making the foundation temperature substantially lower than the temperature of the under-side of said deck member.

6. A regenerative under-fired coke oven battery structure comprising battery end walls, a deck member extending between said end walls and formed in sections arranged end to end-longitudinally of the battery and separated by transverse expansion joints, a coke oven brickwork block mounted on said deck and extending between said end walls and formed with horizontal the batteryv and separated by transverse expansion joints, and means for supporting said deck member and end walls and holding the latter against substantial movement away from one another, whereby the thermal expansion of said sections is taken up by the expansion joints without appreciable elongation of the battery, said means comprising tie rods connecting the tops of said end` walls, parts distributed along the length of the battery beneath and supporting said deck, and a foundation supporting said end walls and parts and spaced by the latter from said deck and making the foundation temperature sub'- stantially lower than the temperature of the 5 under-side of said deck member.

' WILLIAM H. PAVI'I'I'. z 

